Extending our classroom to the world!

customer service

A_m_b_l_y_o_p_i_a_ _is also called ‘l_a_z_y_ _e_y_e_’, it’s a disorder of sight. It involves decreased vision in an eye that otherwise appears normal, or out of proportion to associated structural problems of the eye. There is much more damage to or impact on vision in that eye than is predicted. This disorder has been estimated to affect 1–5% of the population. The project’s scope is to visit one primary school in Bahrain and examine 200 kids. Since it’s a Community Service project, no revenue is expected.

Our team shall conduct screening in a primary school “Abdurrahman Kano International” to help diagnose early stages of this disease. This session will be a pilot, if successful to be proposed to the Ministry of health to become a nationwide program.

The aim of this study is to raise awareness in the public for the overall vision care in Bahrain. Detecting cases and treating them in time will save vision for the population and improve the quality of life for countless generations to come.

Factual analysis of success in terms of project objectives and meth­odologies used

To conduct initial screenings in a public school in Bahrain for 1st graders the screening will be carried in three stages. 1. A vision test for the entire population. Phase 2. Identify any students with vision less than score 6 to advance to the next stage Dry refraction. Phase 3: identify any positive cases of any time of refractive errors to be referred to Salmanya Hospital.

To elevate the awareness of the general vision health and educate the kids

End result of this program will lead to Zero present of Amblyopic in Bahrain.

Study design: Case-control and triage of patients by a practicing licensed in Bahrain Optometrist.

Sample Size: 200 kids

Sampling technique: Three stages of screenings using state of the art calibrated and certified Medical Equipment.

Data Collection methods: three phase Screening that will identify and segregate the entire targeted population

Advice for future teams doing similar projects

In charity projects such as ours Education and planning plays a vital role in the team commitment, which in turn will guarantee success.

In such projects many factors can go wrong it is essential to develop a micro detailed Risk assessment plan to manage any risks associated with the project as well as securing all compromises and contingencies needed to ensure success and smooth completion.

Checks and balances very important to measure and track before the project, in preparation stages and during the execution of the project.

Time line and deadlines must be realistic and synchronized with project scope and objective. Best starting point is during the brainstorming stage to keep in mind the time line achievable goals.

Select the right project manager with a bird’s eye view vision that can give freedom for creativity and still monitor the overall scope and progress.

Two or three lessons learned about managing projects

Legality of our project and securing all permits and licensing helped the success of the project from the initial stage.

Kids Friendly Team members the female motherly presence factor Helped secure total cooperation of the kids in the screening and assured smooth execution. Special thanks to Manal and Nujood from our team.

Passion and Team Commitment about the cause and the project overall objective Gave us tremendous will power to never give up and succeed.

When CEO Tim Cook announced Apple’s digital wallet method in early September he didn’t go into great detail about the security aspects of Apple Pay. Although a lot of people may be hesitate on using Apple Pay it turns out Apple Pay is safer to use than ordinary credit cards.

This is how it works, it lets you use and store your credit cards just by scanning your phone. The technology that sends the payment from your phone to the register is called NFC (near field communication) it’s basically an antenna inside your phone that delivers short encrypted radio waves with your payment data. NFC has been around for a while it has been used in Google Wallet, PayPal, and Pay Express.

It’s a lot harder to steal data from NFC because your phone doesn’t give up your credit card number; instead it uses a one-time use code that gets approved by the bank for every transaction. Even if hackers managed to hack their way into a store and grab this payment data its useless to them because a code can only be used once, plus even if someone where to steal your phone you can actually wipe all the credit cards remotely.

Unfortunately not all stores that once accepted mobile payments options are accepting Apple Pay. Stores like CVS and Rite Aid have stopped accepting Apple Pay for two reasons.

The first being is that they developed their own payment method called CurrentC, it’s designed to one day let you pay at the register without using your credit card. Wal-Mart led the effort to CurrentC along with Target, Bed Bath& Beyond, Dunkin Donuts, Gap, Sears, Shell, Wendy’s and many more have joined it. It’s really no surprise that none of these stores are accepting Apple Pay.

These stores feel that Apple Pay is giving more power to credit card companies. Every time you swipe your card, retailers have to pay the credit card companies between 1.3 to 3 percent of every transaction. Apple Pay relies on credit card networks so if Apple Pay grows, it would allow Visa and MasterCard to get stronger and the fees would stick around.

Questions:

Do you think people will find it difficult to put trust in Apple, after the continuous iCloud hacks that have been going on with celebrities?

Why do you think retailers are so afraid of Apple Pay?

Do you think it’s okay for stores like CVS and Rite Aid to deny the use of Apple Pay even though these companies can handle the tap to pay technology?

As I mentioned in my last post, we have a difficult time finding software that works well for our jobs – and is within our budget. Event Management isn’t always viewed as Project Management and this affects the tools we have at our disposal. This class has gotten me thinking about a few different, and low cost, ways to organize our work.

I am not a sticky notes person. I am a clean desk, organized folders, constantly creating and editing my To Do list person. Sticky notes are cluttered and unorganized. However, as we talked about using sticky notes for managing work flow, I saw how many ways it could be helpful. Right now, we are planning the closing event for our successful $300 Million campaign, Many Dreams, One Mission, The Campaign for DePaul University. It is hard to keep all of the pieces top of mind, and remember who is responsible for what. Sticky notes help so much with this. We can move tasks around as one person gets too busy, or we find a better way to do something. It allows us to see patterns and to fit together work pieces that otherwise do not seem correlated.

We can also use Sticky Notes to place items in the program. We are frequently talking over who is speaking when, for how long, and in between what other elements in the event. Being able to put times on the notes, move them around, and adjust other elements really helps us be able to see how our decisions affect timing and over-all event flow. Also, it does not require us to create 15 versions of the event plan for everyone to look at and compare. This saves a lot of time on our end.

I was really surprised to find something like Sticky Notes, which I really don’t like in my normal activities, to be such a help to us.

In trying to find other options such as this – low cost but helpful, I did a little research. I found Scrumy! http://scrumy.com/ It is an online version of Sticky Notes! Yay. Now, I don’t have to have a cluttered up wall, but I can arrange and change my order of things just as easily. It is a cleaned up version for people like me!

I have to say, I really didn’t see myself find a use for post it notes, beyond the occasional one stuck to my phone with a number I can’t forget, or a message I attach to my computer as I am running out the door. I might have to put this on my next Staples order though. Post It Notes – you are going to revolutionize my life. Thank you 3M.

Target is one of our go-to stores when we are in need of practically anything you can think of-a hair brush, a summer dress, groceries, a plasma tv, makeup, face cleansers and much more. Recently, an article in the Chicago Tribune reported that Target would soon be expanding its “beauty concierge” within the Chicago area. The company’s goal is to expand this program from 28 to 44 stores. The uniqueness of this program is that associates are dressed in black aprons equipped with iPads, as well as mirrors and product samples to provide shoppers with guidance and expertise when they are browsing through the aisles of the beauty section looking for beauty products. According to this article, Chicago was selected as the test market for this program due to its shopping population. Specific locations Target is hoping to expand this program include Cicero, Vernon Hills and West Schaumburg while shutting the program in other locations such as Palatine, Bedford Park, Joliet, Villa Park, Oswego, Plainfield, North Aurora and Romeoville. Further, Target is also expected to expand its program into three additional markets: Los Angeles/Orange County, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C

The implementation of Target’s Beauty Concierge program is part of a trend in the beauty industry in which department stores and specialty retailers are helping and giving customers the opportunity to try their products before buying them. Since the skin care market grew 10 percent in 2012, Target is anticipating this program to boost sales. This new personalized beauty service is allowing Target not only to compete with stores such as Walgreens, who offers most of these products, but also to beauty retailers such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty. Hana Ben-Shabat, a partner at a global management consulting group commented on Target’s strategy by saying that at the end of the day fashion is a product and department stores are competing with beauty retailers and vice versa.

Operation managers at Target are certainly trying to keep up with the industry by coming up with these unique strategies. I think that the implementation of this new service can be a great success in very populated Target stores across the city, for example in downtown Chicago. As this program matures, I think Target will gain a competitive advantage over other popular department stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS. The success of this program will largely be dependent on the type of associates that are being hired and the level of training they receive. Customers nowadays are always looking for advice when they are shopping for products, especially make up because not everyone is a beauty expert. Having someone to help you choose which specific foundation matches your skin, which mascara would help your lashes stand out, or which lipstick would look nice with an outfit, is certainly a service customers will appreciate. In my perspective, operation managers should place great emphasis on the increase of sales from beauty products to ensure that this project is being managed efficiently and can perhaps be used as a basis to provide a reasonable forecast to other Target stores across the nation.

What is your opinion? Do you think this program would attract more customers?

The understanding of operations management is a vast one, being constantly revisited by companies for ways of improvement and how it can be applied more efficiently to the whole team; but how can a 15-year old encompass this at such a novice level? I’m speechless! Through the data inflow of the customer requirements like community reinvestment and proactive volunteer support, she has maintained that consumer engagement so crucial to ensuring longevity of a product line. She has donated more than 10,000 pairs of her Fish Flops to countless organizations that convinces her customer base that there is more to this startup than profits. With the aid of her senior leadership team (who consists of strong people like her father and family) she was able to drive this business to the success that it has achieved now.

Through the simplicity and perseverance of Madison showing through, customers are willing to commit to that tradeoff price (a whopping $20 per pair) for the quality of the product (no holes in the sole like traditional flip-flops). Some things that it continues to do to distinguish itself apart from its competitors is as follows: ability to invest in good materials and design processes (with a lot of help from her ole’ man that has his own t-shirt company), a strong presence in local retailers (welcome to NORDSTOM!), highly satisfied customer base, and of course innovative shoe technology (who can resist light up shoes?).

With a philanthropist idea set for the future of the company, it’s no wonder why this young entrepreneur has engaged such consumer market and future prospects, all part of her incredible strategic plan. She can still further improve in her business based on what the world of operations management has discovered with a few recommendations.

A closer look at her strategic plan shows that a key function is to ensure that the retail face is keeping up with the quality Fish Flops wants to convey. This can be done through product and service performance measures and working on a lean/six sigma processing. This is done by choosing suppliers overseas that can handle the cost of manufacturing the sandal, while at the same time keeping quality ensured (like making lights last longer than a week in the shoe!). Another recommendation would be to include a key metric dashboard if they haven’t already done so; include a type of information system that can incorporate the preferences of her client base and the designs that are in most popular demand so that she can develop a leaner JIT inventory system to cut her costs down. Also shipping can be improved and updated on her new website to include real time tracking and reports that would provide essential information for customers seeking the latest product line offerings. She should also work to develop measurement of customer satisfaction to increase that metric.

Do you think Madison will face rejection soon, or did she find the goldmine of the shoe industry?

There are a lot of pros and cons to doing online shopping as opposed to in-store shopping. Online shopping seems like it only affects consumers by giving them a different medium to make their purchases but we fail to realize that it affects the sellers as well. Through online purchases, businesses gather a lot of data about consumers. Sellers can track which sections of items are the most popular, which products are the most viewed and for how long, and which products are most browsed at but not bought. This gives online sellers a competitive advantage over in-store sellers as they know more about their customers. And everyone knows that the understanding your customer is one of the most important factors in having a successful business. This is empowering in-store sellers to seek e-commerce level data.

The article talks about one company that brings customer tracking data to in-store businesses. This is in hopes of slowly bridging the competitive gap between in-store purchases and online purchases. How can they possibly get consumer data without changing the in-store purchase process? By simply observing the customers! Prism Skylabs specializes in in-store surveillance equipment that tracks customer movement. Prism installs special cameras that captures everything in the store and then is sent to the store’s computers where it is processed by Prism’s special software. The images of the actual shoppers are cut out to respect their privacy.

What is so different about Prism’s techniques than regular surveillance cameras? Prism’s software allows them to “look at which products are hot, which are being moved around and touched, and all kinds of data that allow merchandise teams to understand what is going on across a wide range of stores”. This allows the sellers to get information that the type of information that online sellers use to enhance their systems to get more purchases.

Who is using Prism? Right now, Prism has partnered up with 30 retailers. Retailers that Prism is working with include T-Mobile and Famous Footwear. Does it actually work? A candy store in Oklahoma City was using Prism in their stores and after close observation they changed their premium display to low-selling seasonal candy rather than their famous candies that buyers usually take the time to look through the store to buy. This allowed the store to quantify the customer’s thoughts and make an effective decision in their operations.

Moreover, Prism is not the only data providing company that is emerging. Other companies are picking up on the importance and building unique strategies and techniques to sell to businesses. For example, Shopkick is an app which personalizes deals for a customer in real time as they walk through the store.

Is it worth it to sellers to invest in these data gathering companies?

How do you feel as a consumer towards this type of innovation? Do you feel that you will be making more beneficial purchases or do you feel manipulated by the sellers to buy their preferred products?

“As an airline, if you’re not excited about summer, you’re in the wrong business,” said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest’s chief operating officer. In other words, if you cannot handle the heat get out of the kitchen. This summer, airport crowds are expected to be the largest in the U.S. since 2008. In 2012, all airline flights including regional had an average 76.1% on-time flight arrivals (flight stats analytics WSJ). That will not “fly” this summer.

What method of forcasting informed Airlines that airport crowds are expected to be higher than recent years?

United had a terrible summer last year—only 67.9% of flights arrived on-time in summer months. Customer complaints soared. The airline blamed computer system problems related to its merger with Continental Airlines and an attempt to schedule planes and crews more tightly. The plan backfired because it created longer delays and widespread disruption when tighter schedules couldn’t be met. The use of Gantt charts to schedule turnover time is a simple strategy Airlines use. They are constantly coming up with new ways of speeding up this complex process. Southwest does not have to purchase many Airlines because of how fast they can turnover planes. They plan to use spare airplanes this summer to accommodate stuck travelers more quickly. Southwest plans to routinely keep operating late into the night rather than cancel flights on stormy days. This is a contributor to why Southwest is a leader in customer satisfaction.

What is a disadvantage to scheduling each project to tight with each other?

United says they are better prepared for summer because it has more staff and better scheduling. In addition, the airline has rolled out new graphics screens for its computer system to make it easier and faster for airport agents to use. United also is introducing new boarding lanes at gate areas. Five different boarding groups will line up in different areas, similar to how Southwest lines up customers by groups, so that each group will have a designated place to wait. A brilliant new seating system is set to take off. The coach cabin will board window-seat passengers first, then middle seats, and aisle seats last. With the “Wilma” system, as United calls it, seats fill faster because people already seated don’t have to get up as much to let a row mate in. Now there are more reasons than one to get an window seat.

The industry as a whole have made changes that fliers should be aware of before making travel plans. Budget cuts in Transportation Security Administration overtime will likely lead to longer security-screening lines. Make sure travel plans are set in stone because domestic ticket fees change to $200 from $150, and international change fees went to $300 from $250. United Airlines, Delta, American, and US Airways collected a total of $2.3 billion in reservation cancellation and change fees last year, according to the Department of Transportation.

Will higher change and cancellation fees persuade fliers to book with other airlines?

Would you agree to be recorded while in surgery? Would you agree if you knew that the doctors would take better precautions and be on their best behaviors when they are recorded? The quality of care rises overwhelmingly when doctors know they are being recorded, so why wouldn’t they always be recorded? The article states that doctors follow the hand washing guidelines about 82% more when they are recorded, compared to 7% when the cameras are off. It only makes sense to enact surveillance for all surgeries because the doctors are more inclined to behave better. Just as a retail store or any office behaves better when they know the cameras are on, the doctors do the same. When I think about a hospital I tend to think about how they have higher quality because they are working with sick human beings and these peoples lives are in their hands, but maybe that’s not the case. If I was in surgery I would prefer to have the camera on in order to receive the best quality procedure I could. If my life were in someone else’s hands, I would want the best care in order to come out alive without complications from negligence. Yet there are also the chances that in the course of playing by the book, some miracles would be prevented because doctors are worried about the proper procedures to follow. The precautions that are being looked at are whose going to own the videos, can the surgeon refuse to be recorded, and whether or not surgeries that deal with private areas can be recorded. Doctors disagree to be recorded because of the possibilities of malpractice lawsuits that could be issued.

Besides the quality issue, the article also mentioned the doctors can use the videos as a review for techniques and ways of improvement. When I played sports, the use of video reviews were very helpful. Whether I was reviewing my own techniques or reviewing an upcoming team, I could always learn something new to improve my skills. The videos can also be used as a teaching method for new doctors and students. If the use of cameras equals better quality, I’m all for it. If it’s a matter of patient privacy, then the consent should be put onto the patient and they should be able to choose whether or not to press record.

The topic is interesting and both sides of the argument have valid points. It will be interesting to see what happens in the long run and why they chose it to be that way.

So, let me know what do you think about the quality of hospitals, and would you agree or not agree with the use of cameras?

Home improvement retail companies profited when the real estate industry bloomed. However, the good times did not last long. The “housing meltdown” caused them to have large number of excess stock on hand that were not going anywhere. Needless to say, their year-end numbers did not look appealing to investors.

In the past years, Home Depot stood out, in terms of growth, as compared to their competitors, Lowe’s and Menards. In order to increase sales, the Home Depot decided to concentrate more on products for the interior of the house. These included household cleaning supplies, decorative goods, plants, and interior design products. As mentioned in Chapter 2, you have to understand the market and learn to improve operations. Home Depot studied the market to understand it. They saw that consumers were not looking to build any more houses so they changed their direction to selling products that go inside the houses.

Home Depot’s mission statement is, “The Home Depot is in the home improvement business and our goal is to provide the highest level of service, the broadest selection of products and the most competitive prices.” Within their mission statement, they also mentioned their eight core values. Some of these include, “excellent customer service, doing the right thing, and taking care of our people.” They believed by providing the best service will bring in more customers and create a loyal customer base. Home Depot implemented many different services that their competitors don’t provide. Some of these include installation services, rental services, matching and beating competitors’ prices, and providing an order online, pick up in store service. They are competing against other home improvement retail companies by utilizing their uniqueness.

Home Depot made a strategic decision by providing the service, meet and beat competitors prices. They are willing to match the competitors’ price and give an additional discount to make the customers feel good about shopping at the Home Depot. This service will help them create a loyal customer who will come back to shop. Personally, I have some previous experience working at the Home Depot and providing great customer service is the value that Home Depot management stressed upon. Every associate is given a certain dollar amount that they are able to discount to make the customer satisfied with their purchases.

It seems like their strategic decisions and services that differentiate them from their competitors are working well. Some will say that this company was “rebuilt to last .” Recently, Home Depot reported a 32% increase in profits during their fourth fiscal quarter. Their overall sales increased by 14%. In addition, the company also saw an increase in their installation services.

Do you agree that this company is “rebuilt to last?” Have you shopped at The Home Depot recently? Did you notice the changes mentioned in the article? Which other companies have you noticed recently that experienced immense growth?

The new trend in today’s culture is to encourage having a healthy eating habit. Studies show that when people are at home, they are more conscious of what they are eating because they are making the food them self. While when they are out, they are less likely to stick with the healthy eating habit because of the tempting new food choices. Thus fast food restaurants do not offer as much healthy options available.

Most fast foods are targeted and are geared towards male consumers by labeling them as “dude food”. The food industry reports that 34 percent of men eat fast food frequently each week and only 23 percent of women would occasionally eat it. Fast food restaurants are beginning to have unexpected food choices to their menus to attract customers. For example the Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos, which contains a Doritos flavored taco shell with the regular Taco Bell’s filling. Pizza hut has its cheesy crust pizza which contains five different blends of cheeses in the pizza’s crust. These foods might turn off some people. The majority of the consumers are the younger generation, who would want to try something exciting to have as a conversation starter. The targeted consumers for the fast food industry would most likely be the younger generation, but Dunkin’ Donuts wants to reach out to new consumers and expand their customer base.

Like other fast food restaurants, Dunkin’ Donuts also joined the trend of creating something odd for their menu. Dunkin’ Donuts also added an unexpected food choice to their menu to attract new consumers. This new menu item is a glazed donut breakfast sandwich. This sandwich contains a pepper fried egg and is filled with cherrywood-smoked bacons. What inspired Dunkin’ Donuts of this idea is that they have seen customers buy glazed donuts to use as burger buns at family outings. They want to expand their consumer market to families. They thought this was a great food item to target most consumers because it used in family events. This assumption that all customers would like it is wrong because everyone’s preference is different.

The sales are great in the beginning, but it is starting to go down because it is not exciting anymore. In order to meet the consumers’ needs and expectations, Dunkin’ Donuts should ask their consumers what they want. They failed to do this and the sales were up only temporarily. This was similar to the paper airplane activity that was done in class. The designer group had to design a paper airplane and present it to the customers group. The customers are the ones who decide what is considered to be the best quality. Some teams did not meet the requirements because they did not ask their customers what they want.

Consumers are the one to receive the product or service. They have a set of standards of the quality and service they expect to receive. Since most people are health conscious, Dunkin’ Donuts should add something healthy to the menu instead. This is what the consumers want and desire.

Questions:

Do you think customers set the standards of quality of any product or service?

Was it right for Dunkin’ Donuts to make this assumption that most people would like it?